There is no possibility of postponing the Asia Cup or shifting the tournament to a neutral venue, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) sources have confirmed to Dawn News, stating that it did not send any notification to the member countries.
Pakistani media reports have claimed that if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) does not agree to play the Asia Cup at a neutral venue, the tournament may be out of the hands of the country.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah and the Chairman Asian Cricket Council (ACC) have stated that India will not travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan but BCCI continuously threatens PCB that they will not send their team to the host country and force the Cup to shifted to a neutral venue.
Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to be played in September but the final date has not been announced yet.
PCB management committee has proposed a hybrid model in which Pakistan will play their matches in Pakistan but India will play their matches in Dubai. Najam Sethi had clarified that “We will decide where the Indian team will play their matches, not them. We have the right to decide and we will not back off from the hosting”
The Indian cricket board is believed to want the entire tournament to be shifted to the UAE, as was done in 2018 and 2022 when India and Sri Lanka hosted the tournament.
A member of the ACC board said on condition of anonymity that “messages have been exchanged but no discussion or proposal has been made to postpone the Asia Cup”.
He further said that if the Asia Cup is canceled, the PCB will be informed first, but nothing has happened so far.
According to him, the ACC will have to convene an executive board meeting to postpone or cancel the event.
Sources further said that Chairman Jay Shah can call a meeting (virtual or physical) in 7 days, but so far there is no information about any such meeting.
ACC sources said that to the best of their knowledge, the last official exchange of mail between the PCB, ACC and BCCI was an invitation to assure the Indian team of maximum security and best hospitality.
He said that however, obviously, it is difficult for India to travel to Pakistan in the current sensitive political environment.
Another issue is how much money the official broadcaster has promised on contracts, which include at least two guaranteed Pak-India matches and a bonus third match if both teams reach the final.
“We should remember the media rights and the deal with Star Sports who have paid crores of rupees for at least two Pak-India matches in the Asia Cup,” he said.
Sources are clear that if the board meeting of ACC will decide to cancel the tournament so it will not only effect the participation of Pakistan in World Cup 2023 but will be a dangerous thing for the bilateral relationships of Pakistan with other countries.
